The Bond That Cannot Be Broken
by BiowareFreak
Summary: A lotr AU The war is over, peace reigns over the lands of Middle Earth. Homes are being rebuilt and lives restored. In the forests of the Woodland Realm, two young elves are going to have their lives changed by four strangers. For better, or worse? Only time will tell, time is running out as fear that the dark lord was returning once more to haunt the people of Middle Earth.
1. Chapter 1

The sun shone brightly over the thick green woods of Mirkwood. The war that had nearly crushed Middle Earth was over and peace reigned over the people. The world was finally green again, the threat of Sauron was quelled and the people rejoiced. The world of Men prospered, the elves retreated back to their homelands in Mirkwood and Rivendell, the dwarves and hobbits and returned to their dwellings with nothing but the thought of rebuilding their homes in their minds.

With Thranduil's passing, the Woodland Realm was left to his most trusted advisor Godric. In his realm he had endured much pain, he had lost his beloved wife in the previous war with Sauron. She had always been bored with the mundane day to day activities of royalty, she was born into a soldier's family and she had always been a warrior at heart. Being a queen was not her forte, but it had also been her downfall.

She fought bravely, but her garrison had been overwhelmed, she had died valiantly alongside her best friend Rhovanor. He had been her childhood friend for many years, while he was fighting his wife was pregnant with his baby girl, Tamuríel who he would never meet. Tamuríel's mother died giving birth to her, the news of her husband's death drove her to despair and the workload of giving birth to a child was too much for her. She died with agony in her heart, and she wept for her husband as she died.

With her parents dead, their beautiful daughter Tamuríel was adopted by Godric and was raised with his own daughter, Aurelie. The two girls were just a couple of years apart and, as they grew up, they were inseparable. Aurelie and Tamuríel were inseparable throughout their entire lives, they spent their time practicing their archery and exploring the bounds of their kingdom. Even though they weren't siblings by blood, they were in every other way that mattered.

Leaping from branch to branch just below the canopy of the trees, in a cold but bright wintry morning, a pair of young elves bounced through the woods until the vast rolling hills that lay beyond the western border of their lands. The younger elf paused at the very edge of the forest, her emerald eyes scanning over the land, reaching out to the horizon. Shortly after she was accompanied by her adopted sister, Aurelie.

"Oh Aurelie, what I'd give to be able to go out there" she sighed, before perking up and pointing a slender finger towards the horizon, "look! On the horizon! We can almost see Rohan from here!" She said excitedly, Aurelie bore a sad look in her eyes,

"I also wish that we could be free to explore out there, but you know what father says, it's too dangerous" she sighed, her curiosity sating her for the moment. "What do you think it's like to be out there?" she said, the thirst for knowledge clear in her voice. She looked over to Tamuríel who dropped to sit on the branch she was standing on. Aurelie's head cocked to the side as she pondered her question and gazed dreamily into the distance, her hands fidgeted in her lap.

"I imagine it would be spectacular, they are free" Tamuríel said, a smile playing on her lips as she spoke, "I imagine that it would be amazing, the people can come and go as they please, go wherever they want without reprimand" she paused and looked up to her older sibling.

"Have you ever seen the horses that they ride?" The younger elf said excitedly, Aurelie shook her head, urging her to go on. "They are great beasts that stand on four legs and can carry people as fast the wind! I've seen them in many shapes and sizes. My favourite ones are the one that are a bit stockier than the spindly thin ones. They have hooves, much like the deer that we hunt and hair that waves like flags in the wind! I have read about them in the library-" she chuckled, stopping as she realised that she was waffling again to her adopted sister.

"But I could never go out there into that vast world without you by my side, Aurelie" she said with a fond smile as her sister joined her on the branch. Her mind went back to the horses once again. Aurelie smiled at the younger elf. Her youth showed through in her passions, archery and this new creature; a horse. It was a pretty sight, her bright green eyes glowed with curiosity.

"They sound beautiful sister! We have been through so much together, you bet you wouldn't leave this forest without me!" She paused at the sound of the city's horn bellowing through the trees.

Tamuríel lifted herself onto the branch to stand next to her sister. "I wouldn't dream of it sister!" she frowned in the direction of the horn, "it would seem your father is calling us , let us head back, lest we get into trouble" she grinned cheekily at her sister, "it seems that man knows exactly when we're daydreaming about life outside these woods" she chuckled

"Come on, let's make this interesting! I'll race you back!" she said as she leapt from the branch, Aurelie snorted as she raced after her just about keeping up with her. Aurelie was fast and careful but Tamuríel was spritely and uncaring, she giggled as she chased after the younger elf.

"You'll have to do better than that if you intend to beat me!" she giggled with joy, Aurelie succumbed to Tamuríel's provocation and bounded after her faster. When she was level with the younger elf, Tamuríel looked round with glee "ah there you are! Thought I'd los-"she shrieked as a branch gave way under her weight and she fell under the canopy of the tree, she yelled Aurelie's name as the ground came rushing up to meet her and she collided with the ground in a heap, the forest floor making her lose consciousness. Aurelie looked on in horror as her sister fell to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

"Tamuríel?!" she screamed, fear pounding through her heart. It was within Tamuríel's nature to just spring back up, but the silence was deafening as she felt herself go numb and leapt down the ground as fast as her legs would carry her. When she got to Tamuríel, she was out cold and her arm was facing the wrong way. She gasped with horror and sprinted over to her, seeing that her sister was out for the count she shook her gently, whispering her name as she held her close.

Her head pricked up as she heard running nearby, she sighed with relief as she realised that her father had sent a search party after them. They must have heard the noise of Tamuríel falling and rushed to her aid. The captain, Maindir, jogged over and bowed to the princess

"My lady, I heard the scream and we came as fast our legs could carry us" he said as he straightened his posture before walking over and ordering one of his stronger men to carry Tamuríel, who was starting to come to, small murmurs were escaping from her lips, "We should get back, Lord Godric awaits us" he saw the concern in Aurelie's eyes. "Do not worry my lady, we will make sure she is safe. I swear," he said with a smile before gesturing for them to press on.

The tension in the air as they entered Valinor was palpable, Godric was waiting in the Great Hall when the party returned to the white walls of Valinor. Aurelie saw his face and lowered her head, he did not look pleased at the scene before him. He looked at his daughter with disappointment.

"Aurelie, come here at once. Maindir, get Tamuríel to the healer immediately, the rest of you. Leave us," he said, his eyes scanned the room with a commanding and intimidating glare before it rested on Aurelie. He turned away from her. "Aurelie, what happened to Tamuríel? She has only just recovered from her last injury from your insistence on wandering out into those woods," he said, his voice quiet but angry and concerned.

Aurelie opened her mouth to try and defend herself. As far as she could remember it had been her duty to take care of Tamuríel, it had been a trying task as the girl was so clumsy and reckless, but she loved the younger elf with all of her being.

"We were racing to get home as you called, but she lost her footing and fell. There wasn't anything I could do!" she protested, her father shook his head. He turned to look at her, his thumbs rubbing his temples, a pained expression plagued his features.

"I have told you time and time again Aurelie, you have to be careful in those trees! How could I possibly look at her father, my best friend, Rhovanor," he paused, the memory of his dearest friend clouded his mind, "how could I possibly look at him again after I had sworn to protect her and treat her as my own! All for your silly dreams of adventure!" he said, his voice almost catching in his throat, he felt embers of anger rising in his voice.

In the floors below them the healer was tending to Tamuríel's arm. She hated staying still. Thankfully she hadn't been awake when they'd reset her arm. It was bound and cast, she chewed on a leaf that relieved her pain. The medic fussed over her injury, but she'd had enough of sitting around.

"Alright, I'm done, yes? Excellent" she said she slid off the table, despite the smaller man's discontent. Her legs were very sore, evident in the limp she carried in her walk. She pushed herself as fast as she could towards the main hall, feeling guilty that her sister was taking the blame _again_ for her carelessness. She wasn't going to stand for it anymore, it wasn't fair to expect such things of her sister. She marched up to the guarded doors, the men stood at the doors remained unmoved.

She tried her best to hide her limp, "Please excuse me, I must speak with Lord Godric" she pleaded, although it did her no good, they remained still.

"I'm sorry my lady, if you could wait here just a moment. They won't be long" one of the guards said, his eyes staring straight ahead. Her face fell, her mind swam with ideas on how to get her inside the main hall. She decided that honesty would be the best way.

"Please sir, I must explain to our Lord that the fall was my fault not Aurelie's! Please let me explain!" she pleaded, honesty riddled in her words. They must have heard it, as they shifted their spears with a clank and the doors opened wide. She looked in and the faces of Godric and Aurelie were looking at her in surprise, obviously not expecting her to be on her feet so quickly. She walked in, allowing her stride to return to its limping state and waddled over to them. Godric frowned with concern before walking quickly to meet her and embraced her gently,

"Tamuríel! How are you feeling?" he exclaimed as he held her at arm's length and examined her quickly, Tamuríel giggled which earned her a look of discontent from the older elf.

"I'm fine! Honestly! Only my arm causes my grief and that can't be fixed as quickly as I want it to" she chuckled, and Godric frowned at her. "But please don't blame Aurelie for my own mistakes, she isn't in control of my actions."

"Gods above Tamuríel, you have to be more careful! You are so young, you cannot risk your life so freely! I could not face your father if I let anything harm you," he said, his expression eased as his fondness for the girl overcame his concern. "But nothing I say will change your personality." he sighed and smiled softly at Tamuríel, "You are a daughter of Rhovanor, that is for sure" he chuckled.

"However, I do not want to hear of anymore races in those trees, Aurelie should have known better but there is nothing we can do now. Do you both understand?" he asked, looking at both of the girls expectantly. They both nodded compliantly. "The woods are no longer as safe as they once were, but that is not your concern," he said, forcing a smile onto his lips. "Now get going and get that arm sorted Tamuríel, you can't shoot with one arm" he said with a chuckle, waving them both out giving a warm smile to Aurelie.

The two girls walked cheerfully back to their quarters, a raging fire crackled in their private living room. Aurelie sat on the hide rug and stared into the fiery embers, Tamuríel joined her slowly, her limbs making her very wary of her pain. She allowed herself to express her pain when she was around Aurelie, her sister understood. Aurelie smiled at her sister as she sat down, offering her hand to the younger elf to help her down but, as usual, her pride disallowed her from accepting help.

"Tamuríel, we should have gone straight to the healer. Your leg and your arm are causing you too much grief," she said, worry written into her expression. "I thank you for having my back earlier, such loyalty never goes unnoticed," she said with a fond smile at her sister.

She turned in her seat to face the younger elf. She took Tamuríel's hands in her own and squeezed them gently. "I must tell you something. Can you keep a secret?" she asked, Tamuríel nodded and shifted herself closer, "do you remember the dreams I used to have? Like the ones where I predicted the last war?"

Tamuríel nodded. "Yes I remember. Are you having them again?" she asked, concern inscribed into her forehead. Aurelie nodded, "is _He_ returning?" she asked, alarm rising in her voice.

Aurelie nodded again. "I fear it may be so. One of the soldiers found a dead orc on the outskirts of southern border. It cannot be a coincidence. Why else would father be so concerned for our safety? These forests have always protected us, and have never failed us before," she said, confidence in her words. "I have also dreamt of other things, four strangers are going to arrive and they will change the tide of the war and our lives" she said, saying the words out loud only made the excitement grow.

Tamuríel cocked her head. "Have you told your father of your dreams sister?" she asked, although she knew the answer. The last time Aurelie had these dreams and tried to explain to her father what she was seeing, he had banished her to her room and labelled her as mad. Aurelie scoffed at her question,

"Of course not, you remember last time I had these dreams?" she said, "besides, I trust your judgment above all others, what should I do Tamuríel?" she asked, genuinely confused by what to do next. Tamuríel rested a slender finger on her chin, tapping it lightly as she thought.

"I would suggest telling your father, you were right last time about the war. He has to listen to us sometime!" Tamuríel exclaimed, Aurelie nodded in agreement.

"I should tell him, Valinor is in danger and no amount of forestry can save us if we do not prepare ourselves. We have grown comfortable in our peace, but now it is over." She said, "My dreams predict that the strangers that I speak of will arrive with the light of the full moon" she said, and Tamuríel perked up at the news of the strangers. "I shall speak with my father after dinner, speaking of which we should get ready for dinner as the time draws near." She started to stand and helped her injured sister to her feet, Tamuríel leaned on the wall and winced with the pain. The medicine that the healer gave her was starting to wear off and the full extent of pain of breaking her arm was spiking through her body.

"Come sister, we must go, else we'll be late!" she said, furrowing her brow as pain made her exhale sharply. She forced herself to take a step, but her foot gave way and she fell into the wall. Aurelie caught her sister as she fell,

"Tamuríel, are you sure that you can make it the hall?" she asked, looking over her sister. Tamuríel nodded bravely, her pride not allowing her to admit that she was hurt. "Your concern is comforting sister, but I can make it to the hall I promise," she said weakly. "I shall seek out the healer as soon as dinner is over and done with."

She tested the weight on her leg to see if she could manage. Thankfully it was not as sore as she imagined, she stepped forward and winced slightly, adjusting to the pain before taking another step. She forced a smile for her sister's benefit as she hobbled out of the room, leaning on the walls for support.

A pang of sympathy ran through Aurelie. She smiled, knowing that Tamuríel's pride would never allow her to ask for help from anyone, however she could not refuse if it was offered. Tamuríel was stubborn but not rude. She strode over and wrapped an arm around her, taking her weight off of her foot. Tamuríel smiled at her, a silent thank you, appreciation in Tamuríel's own way.

They arrived at the hall's doors, Tamuríel shifted herself free of Aurelie's grip and the sudden weight on her leg made inhale sharply and wince. She didn't look at Aurelie, Aurelie knew why she couldn't go in being helped. Only Aurelie was allowed to see her weak and Tamuríel liked it that way, it suited her but it made Aurelie so frustrated to see her best friend struggle for the sake of pride. But she would never change, the thought quirked a smile on her once frowning lips. As they approached the great doors that led to the largest and most beautiful hall in the Woodland Realm, inside sat their strict but fair father, Lord Godric. Their day would either be made or broken by the conversation that would be made tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

The two young elves walked into the Great Hall, a giant banquet table full of various kinds of food, a roasted hog sat in the centre and it was surrounded by a multitude of vegetables lay in the middle of the room. Despite being such a large hall, it was kept warm by the dozen hearths that were placed evenly down the hall. It was a beautiful room, ancient artefacts decorated the edges of the room and the walls were laden with the skulls of various triumphant trophies of skilled hunters. Some of them were hundreds of years old, kept pristine by their keepers.

Lord Godric sat at the end of table, two guards stood unmoving and silent behind him. The two girls walked to him and both bowed deeply in respect, "Good evening my lord," Tamuríel and Aurelie both said in unison. Tamuríel eyed the table hungrily and hobbled over to her seat. Godric smiled at the two girls that sat in front of him.

"Tamuríel, how do you feel now?" he asked as he placed a grape inside his mouth, Tamuríel looked up as she piled her plate with food. She looked up hearing her name,

"I am well, my Lord. I will be back up in the trees in no time," she said, starting to dig into her food. Within a few hours the room was filled with laughter, the troubles of their days forgotten.

As the meal came to a lull of contentment, Tamuríel sighed and slouched in her seat. She looked at her sister, Aurelie and remembered what their task was at this dinner table. She sat up and returned her gaze to Godric, waiting for a gap in conversation.

"Lord Godric. There is something we must discuss," she said, looking at Aurelie who understood instantly what the younger elf wanted to talk about. Aurelie sighed inwardly and glanced at the younger elf who urged her to carry on.

"Father, do you remember the dreams I once had about Sauron's army?" She asked quietly, barely able to keep eye contact with her father as she watched his face turn from humour into deep concern. "Well I've been having them again," she whispered, lowering her gaze from him and stared into the palms of her fidgeting hands.

She expected total rejection, to be banished and branded as mad. But when she looked up, Godric was totally unreadable. She watched him place his fork back onto the wooden table top slowly, he leaned forward onto his elbows and looked between Tamuríel and Aurelie. He sighed and gestured for all the guards to leave, leaving only the three elves left in the giant hall.

"Is this true Aurelie?" He asked as soon as the room was empty, his voice was quiet but concerned. Aurelie nodded. "Well please continue. I would like to hear what your dreams have in store for us," he stated, rising from his chair and pacing slowly across the room.

Aurelie gulped, she felt her hands start to clam. She had not expected her father to be as accepting as he was, his calmness was unsettling. The room suddenly dropped to an icy temperature. She cleared her throat and continued,

"I dreamt that Sauron was rebuilding his army. He knew that the ring was too weak a possession to hold his entire power, so he had tied his soul to another artefact. I do not know what it is, but I know that destruction and shadow is coming for us all," she whispered, terrified of what her father was going to say.

As she spoke, her hands started to shake and her cheeks flushed. She hated being put in the centre of attention, especially by her father. Tamuríel was never put in these positions, she did not have to deal with the day to day judgement that came with being the princess. She paused, remembering about the strangers that she believed would be here.

"Also father, four strangers will arrive with the next full moon. They will change the tide of this oncoming war," she said, a bit more confidence in her words. Godric paused his pacing to look at his daughter,

"And what do these strangers want here?" he asked, raising his brow at her. It was not often that visitors came by this part of Middle Earth.

"They are four men, the leader is human. He is very important, although he does not realise how important he really is yet. There is another, the leader and him are like brothers in bonds, he is elvish. The other two are brothers and they bore Gondor's sigil. They have all journeyed here as part of their important quest, although their intentions are unknown to me," she stated, although she knew these men would affect their lives greatly.

Godric returned to his seat, his thumb ran over his chin as he took in all this information. He looked at Aurelie, seeing how nervous his daughter was. He hated that he had this effect on her, he knew it was justified. Godric wished with all his heart that his wife still lived, she would have been better at understanding and making their daughter happy. The unwelcome pang of loss stabbed through him, he looked up at his daughter, banishing those undesirable thoughts from his mind for now. He instead allowed the corners of his mouth to quirk up into a half smile, taking Aurelie by surprise. Godric got to his feet and began to circle the table,

"Had you been an ordinary elf, Aurelie, I would have had labelled you mad for these fairytales." He held his hand up to halt Aurelie's protesting before she could start. "But I cannot ignore that this is the second time you have had these dreams of yours, and I shall not be caught out by them again," he said with a warm smile, watching his daughter's face light up. "I shall speak with the captain and prepare our soldiers, if we end up in this war then we must be ready. We have relied on the forests for protection for too long, but please excuse me. I must speak with the captain immediately," he said as he waved them away with a smile.

The girls left the hall silently, Tamuríel tried her best to keep up with Aurelie but her leg prevented her from doing so. Once they were out of sight, Tamuríel ducked round the corner and leaned back on the wall. Her face scrunched up in pain as the back of her head pressed against the cool wall behind her.

Tamuríel opened her eyes slowly, her eyes found Aurelie's without moving her head. Distress was written into her sister's fair features, Tamuríel forced a smile to coat her pain and willed herself to straighten up, trying to mask the pain she was feeling. She could admit that she needed help with this one, every movement sent spikes of heat up her spine and into the back of her skull, making her teeth grind to try and bite back the pain.

Even just standing away from the wall was causing her grief. She rested a hand on Arcadia's shoulder and squeezed before going to step past her and hobble her way to the healer's quarters below. Aurelie turned on her heel to follow her,

"And where are you going, Tamuríel?" She questioned, a small smile playing on her lips. Tamuríel didn't stop to turn around to answer, knowing that would cause her more pain.

"I am going to the healer," she said through gritted teeth as she walked, leaning her palm onto the wall for support.

Seeing her sister in pain was too much, she strode over and curled an arm around her sister's waist, lifting the weight off her legs. She felt Tamuríel shift her weight onto her, Aurelie smiled at the acknowledgement. It was the small things that Aurelie could make the younger elf understand. She gave a warm smile to Tamuríel and carried her down the spiralling staircases into the core of the palace.

Once they reached their destination, Aurelie knocked on the large wooden door. It opened slowly as Nestor, the healer, stepped out and raised his brow. Crossing his arms in annoyance, he looked at Tamuríel. He tutted and looked directly at the younger elf, his features softening slightly when he saw Tamuríel's pleading eyes.

"Back again so soon, _Aier__ea?_" he muttered softly at Tamuríel, the elvish word for 'little one' gentle on his tongue.

Tamuríel had spent quite a lot of her time with the Nestor as due to her recklessness, many hours of passing time while she waited for the pain to ease so she could move meant that she had time to get to know the man. However his fondness did not allow him to forget her rushed exit before her bones could set properly, she would feel better if she had just waited and she also would not have forgotten her painkilling leaves. Nestor huffed in exasperation before gesturing for the two girls to come inside so he could rectify Tamuríel's mistakes.


End file.
